I was so excited to create additional lessons for the students to further explore the learning progressions. I've always believed in their importance, however never really knew how to use them in an engaging way. I honestly felt like the times when we learned about them, it was somewhat (to extremely) boring for both the students and myself. Also, the students did not often refer to them independently. Then I had an "aha" moment when we watched the video and had the learning progression activity in class. It showed me a way to make it more interactive and engaging for the students. I was so excited to break it down and explicitly teach how to use these progressions to raise the level of their own work.
So, after spending all that extra time...I gave a formative assessment! I was so excited to see what they could do on their own! However, after looking at the results, I once again found myself feeling like the worst teacher ever! Proficient scores were 5/20 in one class and 8/18 in the other. I am fully aware that the progressions have high expectations for the students, but when only 25% meet the standard, I feel like it's a teaching problem more than a student one.
Question: What do you do to lift yourself up during these moments?
Shelby,
ReplyDeleteI connect with your question greatly. As an educator, it seems as if these feelings happen multiple times in a school year. However, the reaction one has to it seems to be the most important. Whenever I have a moment like this, I try to analyze what happened and what can be done to remedy the issue. Although it can be frustrating, there will be other moments where the students will understand the information in a greater number. As we become more comfortable with these units, it is my hope that amount of students meeting proficiency will increase. I would try not to over analyze this one situation :)
Shelby,
ReplyDeleteI am having one of those moments today. The students did so well analyzing the characters in The Tiger Rising and were so insightful when having a group discussion about the text. Today they did the post assessment for the Interpreting Characters Unit. I was actually excited to give the post assessment because I thought they would do fantastic on it! Based on the discussions in group and conferencing. Unfortunately, at first glance at them I am not looking forward to taking another look and actually scoring. One of those moments thinking what else could I have done.
I love how you reached out and asked, "What do you do to lift yourself up. . ." As teachers we are so hard on ourselves because we want our teaching to be the best and the children to do their best. In this case you articulate what so many people are thinking, "I thought it was a good lesson but the results don't show it." The reflection and adjustment is exactly what you do just like you expect of your students. Reaching out and getting suggestions is also very valuable. We need to lift each other as much as possible!
ReplyDeleteI feel your struggle Shelby! I had a really similar experience with 8th graders recently, and quite frankly, it felt a bit like a slap to the face. Our school is very involved in mindfulness, so I’ve been trying it more when I reflect on bad days. I focus on the little victories, or a warm-up writing prompt that was really engaging for students. Even if the victories are only a two minute fraction of the day, the positive affect of acknowledging them often lifts me to a more reflective and reasonable mindset. Then I’m able to think objectively about what I need to keep doing, and what I need to change.
ReplyDeleteHi Shelbs-
ReplyDeleteI am in the same boat as you. I was unaware of the learning progressions until I did my first reading assessment. I think I actually came to you upset with my scores and thought it had to do with my teaching style. I am really glad you asked this question because it is something I have wanted an answer to as well. I like Lindy's response with the idea of reaching out and getting suggestions. As a beginning teacher I don't want to be the naggy annoying one that asks about every little thing, but I feel like sometimes it is needed!!! I am finding that showing students the learning progression at the beginning of the unit has helped them kind of understand what is expected, and it familiarizes me with where my students stand and what they are expected to know at the end of the unit!!!! Glad so many people are in the same boat as me! Few!
Oh, Shelby, I feel your pain! There's good days and then there's those not so good days. I'm sure you did everything you possibly could so don't beat yourself up. Think of it as a starting point and it can only go up from there. That said, it is so disappointing when assessments fail - whether it's the student, the teacher, or the assessment. Thanks for being transparent - especially for this new teacher!
ReplyDelete